2021 Palmetto Championship: Dustin Johnson Looks Like Number One Again
By Tim Letcher
Dustin Johnson has not played like the number one golfer in the world lately. But on Thursday, playing at the 2021 Palmetto Championship in his some state of South Carolina, Johnson seemed to find what’s been missing in his game lately.
In his last seven starts on the PGA Tour, DJ has seemed like anything but the world’s best golfer. It started with a T54 at the WGC-Workday at the end of February. Two weeks later, Johnson tied for 48th at the Players Championship.
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Two weeks later, he missed the cut while defending his green jacket at the Masters. After dominating the field there in November, DJ shot 74-75 and was only around on the weekend to present the green jacket to Hideki Matsuyama.
His best showing in his last seven starts also came in South Carolina. At the RBC Heritage, Johnson finished in a tie for 13th place. But he was T48 at the Valspar and missed the cut at the PGA Championship (which was also in South Carolina, at Kiawah Island).
After taking two weeks off, DJ was back on Thursday and found Congaree to his liking. However, it was a bit of a slow start for Johnson.
Playing the back nine first, he parred holes 10 through 14. He finally got into red figures with a birdie at the par-4 15th hole. He would par 16 and 17 before a birdie at the 18th hole got him to 2-under par.
On his second nine, DJ was able to make more happen.
It started with a birdie at the par-4 first hole. After a par on the second, DJ birdied the par-4 third hole and he was suddenly 4-under on his round.
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He would add a birdie at the sixth hole and another at the ninth to shoot a 6-under par 65. That number is his best score since shooting a 65 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.
Unlike what he has done lately, Johnson looked like the number one player in the world on Thursday. He hopes that trend can continue all weekend in his home state.